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EPN News and Happenings

admin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:43:26 +0000

Yesterday, EPN is providing their QCP report in the reports area. To view your earnings in this new system, log into your EPN control panel and click ‘Reports’. Then expand ‘Report Filters’ and select ‘Quality Click Pricing Preview’ from the ‘Report Type’ filter and select August 2009 and Run Report.

Initially, I was discouraged since my numbers were about $600 below my monthly report (old system), but then I noticed the dates within the QCP report, which started at 8/18! Doing a quick calculation, my numbers are actually double of what I make currently. If this is the case, this will be great, but that is assuming that I’m not reading the report wrong, or if there were no issues in reporting, etc. But the signs (in my case) look very promising.

The next item to mention is EPN is having another webinar discussing QPC. The last webinar was the first I’ve ever attended, I thought overall, it had some great information, and having the opportunity to ask questions was absolutely great!

Their next webinar is scheduled for Sept 1 at 8:30AM PST. Here are some links and codes you’ll need to attend:

Attendee Direct URL:

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/intercall1/join?id=Sep01&role=attend&pw=Attend

Alternate Web Login
Conference Site URL: http://livemeeting.intercall.com
Meeting ID: Sep01
Attendee Entry Code: Attend
U.S. Attendee Phone: US/Canada Dial-in #: (877) 252-8217
Int’l/Local Dial-In #: (660) 422-4755
Conference ID: 26202103

Diversifying beyond affiliate marketing for additional earnings

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:55:46 +0000

Today I was thinking about different areas where to make earnings. I noticed on Twitter that someone posted a update regarding a freelance service. After checking it out (related to cutting layouts into valid XHTML code templates) I started to think that becoming a affiliate or internet marketer goes beyond just the sales of products or services.

Many affiliate marketers have skills that others lack. Skills that are valuable to other internet or affiliate marketers but also skills that go beyond this field and into the standard workings and requirements of the internet itself.

To me, a internet or affiliate marketer is a entrepreneur that is trying to find opportunities to make a living solely by their own means. No bosses, no schedule but based only on the desire of calling their own shots. As of now, I’m still not a full time affiliate marketer, but I am a full time entrepreneur. I’ve owned my own web development business for five years, and I added affiliate marketing to the business as a way to diversify. And now I’m want to make that a focus. But you could definitely look at it the other way. Affiliate marketers should definitely look at selling services to make a few dollars to diversify your income streams.

Looking at the freelance service, I was thinking that many marketers, could do simple coding project, or design work, or content writing that has nothing to do with the affiliate marketing field and make a few dollars during down times. Also this could provide networking opportunities or potential niche research with the clients you’re working with.

I already mentioned Wealthy Affiliate’s Jobs area that provides a venue for programmers and designers to be hired within the affiliate community. Digital Point might be another place to look for these opportunities. Freelance sites are all over the internet and could be a wealth of opportunity.

The bottom line, diversity is very important be it niches or affiliate strategies, but diversifying your income stream could save your bacon.

Overstock follows Amazon in tax revolt!

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:50:51 +0000

I just read at InternetNews.com that Overstock is following Amazon in regards to the tax revolt. Overstock has terminated it’s affiliate programs in California, Hawaii, North Carolina and Rhode Island.

You can read more about it here.

I understand the reasoning with these business, but I’m hoping that the revolt is reconsidered at some point. Either the states will need to change their policies, or these merchants will need to change their angle in regards with affiliates. It’s my personal opinion that that these businesses will drastically hurt their bottom line by terminating their relationships as more and more states seem to be following.

What does the future of affiliate marketing hold for us?

Amazon Tax – Hawaii is the latest to get hit

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:44:07 +0000

Hawaii is the latest state to be hit with the Amazon Tax. Since Hawaii’s economy has been suffering (as many others) their lawmakers have passed legislation that will require companies to collect sales tax if they have affiliates in the state.

This is forcing Amazon to terminate their affiliate program in Hawaii

North Carolina, Rhode Island and New York have already applied this legislation, and Amazon was forced to terminate those relationships as well.

Here is a email excerpt from Amazon to it’s Hawaiian affiliates:

We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of the uncertainty and timing of a veto, and the possibility that a veto could be overridden,

This is definitely continued bad news in the world of affiliate marketing. There is a possibility that Hawaii could veto this legislation, they have until July 15th. Amazon did not want to stick around though.

Staying Connected – Flogs, Amazon Tax and CC Rebills

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:12:46 +0000

As a affiliate marketer it’s very important to stay connected to other marketers and networks. This is critical to understand changes in the market place and to be able to foresee dangers down the road to your own affiliate network.

For example, there are a variety of ‘hot’ topics being discussed on Twitter and blogs out there. These topics are flogs (fake blogs), Amazon tax and Credit Card rebills.

Flogs have been a hot topic for a bit. It’s basically the creation of fake blogs to market a specific offer, and then driving traffic via PPC and SEO to the site. The blog has fake testimonials and endorsements created to give confidence to a prospective buyer. Flogs often target weight loss and beauty offers. The buzz surrounding these is the potential for legal action to creators of flogs, which can impact future affiliate marketing.

Personally, I have ethical issues with this type of promotion. I don’t mind providing a landing page with a ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Great Offer’, but to actually create fake content talking about how it changed your world… seems unethical and totally misleading. Commercials do this (I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV), but those are being created by the merchant, and they’re responsible for their own liability based on their own product or service.

The Amazon Tax is where a state tries to collect taxes from online shoppers. This can greatly affect merchants, publishers and consumers out there and will directly impact affiliate marketing in the future. There are a few groups that trying to lobby, but not sure at what extent to prevent this. I’m planning to look further into this and see what I can do to add my voice.

Credit Card rebills is definitely not a new tactic, but seems to be growing in popularity. It’s basically when you sign up for a “free” service but need to provide a credit card. After the trial period is up, your card is charged unless you cancel, but of course, canceling can be difficult or ignored. How does that affect affiliate marketers? Well, just like in the ring tone space, some information was not explained fully on affiliate created landing pages, also you may be contacted by the consumer thinking you’re the one that charges the card. To me this means you need to be cautious of potential offers, and find reputable companies that comply with discontinuing the charges when asked.

All of these topics are worth noting, and may affect your current affiliate marketing efforts. Staying connected with what’s going on, asking questions and identifying potential trouble areas in the future can help you avoid issues and more importantly, loses.

eBay to Cut Seller Fees

admin — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:43:45 +0000

So the buzz on the street lately is about eBay cutting seller fees due to weaker 2008 results. You can read the full article here: http://www.cnbc.com/id/22808450/for/cnbc

Here is a excerpt that was used at the digital point thread that initially caught my eye.

Cutting Sellers’ Fees

EBay plans to cut the fees it charges sellers on its auction site, according to a presentation of the company’s quarterly results.

Responding to complaints by its key network of auction sellers, eBay will reduce the upfront fees sellers must pay to insert new listings on its auction sites along with reductions in the final transaction fees they pay on successful sales.

“We are going to make breaks from the past,” Donahoe told investors on a conference call to discuss eBay’s 2007 year-end results.

Over the next week, eBay will announce changes in pricing of its services and improvements in the way buyers can rate sellers, Donahoe said.

“We are going to get very aggressive about making eBay easier to use,” said Donahoe.

This to me is a troubling sign. Of course, as soon as I start making some decent earnings with eBay, it looks like affiliates might feel the heat on this one. What does this mean to me? Well, it’s obvious FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doom) at this point, but I want to stay the course with my current eBay campaigns. I don’t think it’s panic time yet. But it’s definitely pushing to my other projects using other merchants. I’ve stated many times that I wanted to get off of eBay and diversify more, well, I think it’s definitely the time now.